"My partnership with Amelie began with a text message: 'I'm looking for a coach at the moment. If you're interested in chatting to me, let me know'," he wrote in his BBC column. "I don't know if she was surprised to hear from me, but she did make me wait overnight before messaging me back the next morning."

Murray enjoyed a dream homecoming on Wednesday, winning his first competitive match on British soil since his triumph in the Wimbledon final over Novak Djokovic, as he saw off Paul-Henri Mathieu to move into the third round at Queen's.

It was his first game with Mauresmo on board, although he has warned that little will change in the way he plays at Queen's or Wimbledon while they get to know each other.

She will have a lot to live up to, nonethless. "The split with Ivan Lendl was hard to get over for a little while because he was a huge part of my career. He had a big influence on me and my team.

"He was the leader because of all the things he achieved and the results we had together. That gives you more influence. If things are going horribly it's a bit different, but things had gone very well. It was tough for me, for sure, for a few weeks, but once I started thinking about different coaches, I started to move on and look for something different."

Murray admitted life on and off the tennis court has been tough for him since the day he won Wimbledon last summer.

After ending Britain's 76-year wait for a male singles champion at the All England Club on July 7, Murray has endured a turbulent ride with back surgery and the split from his former coach Ivan Lendl in March throwing up bumps in the road.

He also revealed he still feels the lingering effects of September's operation every now and then. "In a lot of ways it's been a tough year for me since I last played on grass," Murray wrote. "Getting over the back surgery I had in September was a hard process. In the slams, I played decent: a couple of quarters and then the semis at the French, which was a pretty good effort despite the result at the end.

"It took a good three or four months after the surgery before I felt strong enough to play some longer matches, and even at the French I struggled a little bit physically.

"From time to time I still feel the back but, in comparison to what it was like during the clay-court season last year, it's so much better.

"I used to be struggling when I woke up in the morning, whereas now I wake up and don't have any problems. It was affecting almost everything I did before, and now that's not the case.

Murray's second match since Mauresmo joined his team was due to take place on Thursday against Radek Stepanek on the Queen's Centre Court and his opponent is under no illusions about the task facing him.

Stepanek said: "He is a great grass-court player. Playing him here at Queen's Club, which has incredible history on Centre Court, will definitely be a great challenge for me.

"I will get ready as I did for the previous matches. I know that it's a tough task. I will come out and perform as best I can.

"They [the crowd] will support their home darling. That's normal everywhere in the world. It's nothing special."

Stepanek was also asked his view on Murray's appointment of Mauresmo as his new coach.